Colegate puts FA chief on the spot

Brian Barwick is facing his first major challenge as Football Association chief executive after the Ashley Cole tapping-up affair forced him to deal with the thorny issue of agents' conduct.

After just four months in the post, the former ITV Sport chief will be judged braveheart or coward on the way he handles the case of the Arsenal defender's representative Jonathan Barnett.

An investigation is under way into the agent's role in the episode and Soho Square have promised action if regulations have been breached. The FA's compliance unit are gathering information, but whether the inquiry actually has teeth will be down to Barwick.

With all the guilty parties now appealing, the FA may decide to wait until that process is over before cranking up their case against Barnett. However, the man who used to head the FA's compliance team feels they will take the opportunity to make an example of Barnett and deter other agents from breaking the rules.

Graham Bean said: "They have been in this position so many times before with a promise to take action.

"If they want to send a message out, then they will not have a better chance than this."

If Barnett was found guilty of wrongdoing, such as persuading Cole to "flout the rights and duties" of his contract, he could be punished by anything from a warning to a fine or the withdrawal of his agents' licence.

The same applies to Pini Zahavi, the other agent at the centre of the tapping-up affair, but because he is registered outside England the FA have no power over him and will have to pass on information to FIFA.

Cole's determination to challenge his £100,000 fine and pursue a case of restraint of trade also presents an awkward problem for the Professional Footballers' Association. The defender believes Premier League rules on transfer negotiations breach players' rights.

The League bans players from talking to other clubs from this country without permission from their employers until the final five weeks of their contracts.

In most of Europe's other major leagues they adopt the FIFA guideline, which states unapproved negotiations can start six months before they become free agents. In Italy, players can talk to rival clubs in the last year of their contracts. There is now pressure for England to fall into line with the rules on the continent.